1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to medical apparatus and, more particularly, to a semi-permanent, non-disposable surgical lamp handle and a sterile disposable lamp handle cover.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The continuing rise in costs of medical care and treatment despite the private efforts of health care facilities has resulted in the imposition of austere measures against health care facilities by both the federal government and third party payers (private health insurance payers, employers, etc.). As a result of these austerity measures, health care providers must take drastic action to control costs in order to survive.
In the past, health care institutions have identified their high cost areas and targeted them for increased cost control and productivity. The operating room has been one area with extremely high expenditures and corresponding high profitability. Therefore, institutions across the country have initiated programs designed to eliminate waste relating to operating room labor and supplies and to increase productivity, while striving to improve patient care.
One primary method for reducing wastes and keeping costs to a minimum in health care facilities is by converting from reusable to disposable sterile supplies. The use of disposable supplies is more critical than ever due to the increasing number of AIDS-related hospitalizations and the possible exposure of hospital patients or employees to the deadly virus. Policies such as the Center for Disease Control's "Universal Precautions" require that all blood and bodily fluids be treated as if infected.
Recently, there have been efforts to reduce costs and improve performance in the operating room by using disposable lamp handles or lamp handle covers instead of traditional, non-disposable lamp handles.
In the operating room, surgical lamps are typically located above the operating room table to provide illumination of the area about the surgical incision. Historically, adjustment of the surgical lamp by a surgical team member is achieved by the mounting of sterile surgical lamp handles onto the lamp prior to the commencement of the actual operative procedure. This sterile lamp handle provides a means for the surgeon or scrub nurse to adjust the lamp to illuminate the area of the surgical incision.
Traditionally, operating room surgical lamp handles have been non-disposable handles which are washed, wrapped and resterilized after each surgical procedure for the next day's operative case load. This is a costly, time-consuming and inefficient process. These costs have been amplified by the costs of storing the necessarily large number of non-disposable lamp handles. The bulkiness of the non-disposable lamp handles and the additional procedures necessary to resterilize it for the next operative procedure, increase the likelihood of accidental contamination.
Recently, there have been several attempts to remedy the problems associated with the conventional non-disposable lamp handle. These efforts fall into three different categories: the rigid disposable lamp handle, the rigid disposable lamp handle cover, and the flexible disposable lamp handle cover.
The rigid disposable lamp handles of recent design are typically composed of plastic and are an approximation of the rigid, resterilizible, non-disposable surgical lamp handle. Such disposable lamp handles have many of the same disadvantages as the non-disposable lamp handle. Due to the size of the disposable lamp handle, they are difficult to deliver to the sterile operative "set-up" table, and such deliveries may have to occur several times during an operative procedure. Such disposable lamp handles also store poorly on the sterile field. In addition, the disposable handle lacks structural integrity. Thus, such handles sometime flex during major movements of the lamp or become loose or separated from the male stud of the surgical lamp. Such disposable lamp handles also lack ergonomic design features, providing only a smooth cylindrical gripping surface for the surgical team member.
The rigid disposable lamp handle covers of recent design are typically mounted over the surgical lamp handle by sliding the rigid cover over the conventional non-disposable lamp handle. Such rigid disposable covers cannot be removed in a simple and easy fashion. This is primarily due to the frictional engagement of the handle cover with the handle, which is necessary for maintaining the handle cover in its proper position during use. It has been found that the quickest and surest method of removing the rigid cover is to remove the conventional non-disposable lamp handle which it is covering from the surgical lamp and then separating the rigid cover from the handle, thereby defeating a benefit of having the disposable cover. The size and lack of flexibility of the rigid cover also causes it to have many of the disadvantages of the conventional lamp handle in that it is difficult and time-consuming to deliver the rigid covers to the sterile operative "set-up" table. Such handle covers also store poorly on the sterile field and require too much space for the necessary inventory. Such handles also provide only a crude, smooth cylindrical grip and lack ergonomic design features.
Prior flexible disposable lamp handle covers are typified by a plastic cover which slips over a customized rigid non-sterilizable lamp handle. This flexible disposable cover is attached to the surgical lamp by sliding the lamp handle cover over the customized non-sterilized lamp handle previously mounted onto the surgical lamp and the positioning of the cover on the handle is maintained through both frictional and partial vacuum created forces.
It has been found that it is difficult to apply or remove such flexible disposable covers in the minimum amount of time required by operating room constraints. The cover is composed totally of flexible plastic having little structure, thereby increasing the difficulty of placing the cover over the customized lamp handle. Due to its flexible plastic composition, the cover tends to hold its packaged, folded form, thus increasing the difficulty in slipping the handle cover over the customized rigid lamp handle. Due to its tendency to maintain its packaged form, it may not adequately prevent against all accidental or unknown incidental contamination of the sterile glove hand of the surgical room operator.
Such prior art flexible covers also require a second step to complete the locking of the flexible disposable handle cover on the customized rigid lamp handle. This step consists of depressing the base of the cover in order to generate a partial vacuum which holds the cover in position. In order to relieve the vacuum during disengagement of the cover, the operator removing the cover must pull on the base. Due to the universal difficulty of placing any handle cover onto and removing such cover from the surgical lamp, which are commonly located above the operator's, head, and the "light touch" mobility of the surgical lamp, such difficulties reduce many of the gains theoretically provided by a disposable cover. Since the customized handle used in conjunction with such disposable cover is also relatively short, the surgical room operator's effectiveness in gripping the handle through the handle cover is substantially reduced due to the lack of ergonomic design characteristics.
Another flexible light handle cover is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,671. This cover includes a grip portion defined by a first and second end. An end portion is integrally attached to the first end of the grip portion to form a hollow container suitable for sliding over the conventional lamp handle. A coneshaped protector is connected about the second open end of the grip portion. This protector extends radially outward for protecting the hand of the operator from contacting portions of the surgical lamp. The cone-shaped protector includes a plurality of radially connected ribs to add mechanical strength to the protector. Normally these protector ribs are uniformally spaced. In addition, the grip portion includes a plurality of ribs integrally disposed on the interior side to provide frictional engagement with the lamp handle.
So far as known, there is yet to be provided for actual use, a lamp handle cover system which includes an ergonomically designed handle and a disposable handle cover which is capable of preventing accidental contamination and unknown incidental contamination of the surgical area, is easy to position over and/or remove from the lamp handle, and is also easy to store, handle, and dispose of in a safe, efficient and cost effective manner.
It is an object in the present invention to supply a non-disposable, semi-permanent lamp handle and its accessory component, a sterile disposable semi-flexible handle cover, which markedly improves the efficiency and performance of adjusting lamps in the operating room, while maintaining a high level of sterile technique, thereby reducing the costs of providing surgical services.
Another object of this invention is to provide an anthroprometrically designed lamp handle which can be easily mounted onto the standardized male component of conventional surgical lamps.
Another object of this invention is to provide a lamp handle having a locking mechanism for insuring that the handle cover is securely mounted about the lamp handle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a disposable surgical lamp handle cover which can be readily presterilized, compactly packaged, and easily disposed of in a safe manner.